Heroes
by mrose.b
Summary: "I, I will be king And you, you will be queen" A twenty-three year old Sarah Williams returns home from New York for a visit to her family along with an oddly familiar love for David Bowie's music. With a gift from the Goblin King waiting for her and an exhasperated stepmother mockingly wishing her away will she ever get back to 'normal? JxS Past/Present AU Labyrinth
1. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

 **Greetings friends and readers!**

This story has been rewritten in order to fix style continuity as well as to provide a better plan of action for where the story goes. The following is some information that I would love for you to keep in mind before/as you read:

-In this story Sarah Williams is 23 years old, and her little brother Toby is 9 years old, making it eight years after the movie Labyrinth. The release year of the movie is what we are basing the timeline off of, which means that this story takes place in 1994.

-I was born in 1997. I do not know very much about 1994, and it shouldn't matter too much, but I am trying to include aspects of 1994.

-I do not own any of these characters or worlds (obviously) and am not profiting from this story (with the exception of having a creative outlet with lovely feedback oppourtunities).

-I am completely ignoring any written works that may go with the Labyrinth, including the novel, the sequel, and comics. I have not been able to read any of them and would not be able to do them justice. This means that after the end of the movie Labyrinth I am taking control of what happens. [Example: Instead of applying and getting rejected from Julliard I am having her have attended a different college completely, thus not crushing her dreams, which are very important.]

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the story!

-MRoseB, Melody.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

 _ **The Past is in the Past**_

It was the beginning of summer at the Williams household, and although the sun shone altogether too brightly and grass had begun to turn brown from the lack of rain, there were still trees outside and a shaded porch to sit upon. An aging sheepdog waited patiently under the tree, brown eyes searching the surrounding areas for a sign of his humans' return. At the slightest sign of danger, he was prepared to bark and let whoever it was- mailman or passing by pedestrian alike- that he meant business when it came to protecting his home.

* * *

"Cannnnn you feelll, the loveee tonightttt~" The crooning off-key voice of Sarah's father had her just about in stitches as they drove her back from the airport.

"No- dad please-" Sarah gasped out between laughs and pressing a button on the car's radio to change the station.

"Awe come on Sarah, Toby loves that song." Her father chuckled good naturedly as yet another love song came on the radio.

"It's only because he loves Lion King. I got him the poster for his birthday." Sarah smiled fiddling with the radio again, changing the music to Don't Turn Around and causing her to shake her head as her father started to sing again.

"Don't turn around 'cause you're gonna see my heart brea-"

"No." Sarah said switching it again. She bit her lip and glanced to her dad, "You'd think that people would've had enough of silly love songs."

"I look around me and I see it isn't so~" Her dad crooned with a grin and she just giggled. "Why don't you just put in that tape?" Her dad said nodding to the cassette player in her lap, causing Sarah to grin and pop it out and into the player suddenly blasting the voice of David Bowie through the car mid-song.

"-like Dolphins, like dolphins could swim.." Sarah sings along and causing her dad to chuckle.

"Oh so you can sing to the radio but I can't?" He asked teasingly and she just grinned.

* * *

The bird was in the tree again, a great tawny owl he had been unable to run off with his 'ferocious' barking and snapping as he had with the other neighborhood cats and pigeons alike, but that didn't matter at that particular moment. He knew the owl was not like the other animals in the neighborhood, but then again neither was he. He was a war veteran—and an infamous one at that. More than once he had run off during battle, but he had never ever failed to protect who he was assigned to protect. By running and hiding however, he had cause those he was protecting to follow him to safety and the blow to his honorable name was always worth it.

The collar around his neck itched with sweat and the electricity of an oncoming lightning storm. The tag named him Merlin, a fine name as far as he was concerned, but not quite as fine as his true one, the name he only allowed the use of in the Underground. The familiar sound of a car came down the street and his ears perked as he saw it. Karen opened the front door with a squeak that he wished they would oil and suddenly the bony hug of a growing boy squished him as the car pulled into the driveway.

"Be careful Toby, you'll squish him." Sarah said getting out of the car, although giving the dog just as much of a squeeze as he had. Eight years had passed since she had last been whisked away to the underground, and she had graduated high school and traveled to college to become a theater major—with a minor in fantasy literature. She had her own apartment in New York, yes, but it was Toby's birthday this week and she had flown out to visit him and her dad.

And Karen.

It was a shame they had never managed to get onto better terms with each other really, but with an 'overactive imagination like Sarah's' it simply 'isn't healthy' and 'causes Toby to have bad dreams'. This was untrue of course; when she asked Toby about the nightmares, he always described them with an air of awe and wonder she knew that were in fact, dreams. And he wasn't the only one with the dreams about a castle and maze, about crystals and music and laughter. The staircases that did not obey the laws of physics. Chickens and goblins and owls.

No, Karen was not able to stay on good terms with Sarah with that dangerous 'imagination'.

But this week Sarah was determined not to let that small fact effect the week ahead; she was here for Toby. She unlatched the leash to free Merlin from the overheating yard and went inside with her bag and Toby holding her hand. The house hadn't really changed at all.

Well, there were more toys about, toys for a nine-year old, and a few of the things that had gotten hidden away in her closet eight years ago had made a reappearance. Making her way to the stairs, she almost stepped on her old desk labyrinth. She shook her head tiptoeing her way to safety.

"Now Toby I thought I asked you to pick up your toys a half hour ago." Came Karen's chastising voice, and Toby hung his head, still scratching under Merlin's chin absentmindedly.

"Sorry momma." Toby sulked, almost looking truly sorry. Sarah smiled slightly, knowing he just wanted to get help putting them away if not managing to not put them away at all. She walked over and knelt next to him.

"I'll help you put them away then we can go and play with them in my room, alright?" Sarah bargained, causing the young boy to grin, and she noted Karen's grateful smile as she headed back into the kitchen, where Sarah could smell something delicious cooking. They cleaned up the mess and headed upstairs with the box of toys, Toby chatting excitedly about a story he very much wanted to play out with the bears.

Mostly clean of knick-knacks and toys, Sarah's room was the most changed in the house. All her old dress up costumes she had donated to her high school drama department as a parting gift. Most of her personal things were in New York now as well, but a small black box sat on the old vanity with no card or other such decorations. She dismissed it for the time being, and went to her closet to retrieve the bears that Toby had been talking about. There was a knock on the doorframe to which both Toby and Sarah replied, 'come in', still engrossed in the story being slowly enfolded.

"You forgot this in the car." Sarah's father said, holding up a they had listened to in the car. "I rewound it for you."

"Thank you dad." Sarah smiled, standing and retrieving the music-giving device that had allowed her to lose herself on the plane ride over. Her father simply waved a hand, as if to say 'it's nothing' and tousled Toby's hair before heading back downstairs, and she could hear him singing 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' again and heard the giggles of Karen from the kitchen which made her smile a bit. She popped the tape back into her walkman and held up one head phone to her ear, hearing the smooth voice of David Bowie come through.

"Though nothing, nothing will keep us together,

We can beat them, forever and ever..."

She pressed the stop button again and set it on her vanity along with the black box to resume play with Toby until dinner came, tawny owl residing outside the window still watching; waiting.

* * *

"I don't see what's wrong with peaches. You used to love peaches when you were a little girl." Karen said to Sarah the next afternoon as she rolled out a ball of pie crust on the floured counter. Sarah was reluctantly peeling and cutting peaches and apples for pies.

"I had a bad experience with a bad peach when I was fifteen remember." Sarah huffed causing a frown from Karen. Every time she'd tried to eat a peach or anything peach flavored, it always took her back to the Labyrinth, and memories of him. The Crystal Ballroom and that beautiful dress. But it had all been a trick to make her lose time, she could've lost Toby. It was the guilt that kept her from eating peaches really, the kind that made her stomach turn and nauseate with the stress of that guilt.

"Yes, a worm or something. But these are fine. Not all peaches are bad." Karen rationalized putting the crust in a pie tin. Sarah got down two bowls to mix up the pie fillings in. "Toby specifically asked for a peach pie instead of a cake this year."

"Well that's great but I just don't like them." Sarah replied, ending the discussion. She put the peaches in one bowl and the apples in the other then got out brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Karen rolled out the other ball of dough.

"Can you please help with watching the boys tonight?" Karen asked coolly, changing the topic of discussion. "We have seven coming over and four of them are spending the night." Sarah sighed.

"Yes. Fine, I will help with the boys." She replied bringing over the bowls of pie filling. They situated the cut up fruits in the pie crusts and then topped them, lattice crust for the apple and a plain crust with shapes cut out from a cookie cutter for the peach. She put a pie bird into each, not so much for functionality purposes but rather for appearances.

They placed the pies into the oven.

* * *

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR TOBY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"

Toby grinned blowing out the nine candles that Sarah had stuck into the peach pie, and seven other eight and nine year old boys started chattering, some singing the extra 'and many more on channel four, roller skates on channel eight', one or two doing the classic 'you look like a monkey, and you smell like one too'. All things she could remember as a classic part of her childhood experience. Times may have changed, but little kids sure hadn't.

Well, maybe not little kids. Toby came up to her shoulder now, and she was sure that with his parent's height he'd at least match her if not surpass her in height in just a few years. For just a moment though she could remember him as he was when he was a baby, before she decided that she wasn't going to let her selfishness get in the way of her protecting him. He was positively beaming, getting the first slice of pie along with some ice cream. The boisterousness of the party stilled as the boys ate rather than talked. Sarah got up with her dad to retrieve presents.

"Looks like he has enough presents to have all his dreams come true." Her father joked, causing Sarah to look at him oddly for his strange choice of words before he went off to Toby to try to get in his 'pinch to grow an inch' that she could remember he'd always do when they were little.

 _"I've brought you a gift." He'd said._

 _"What is it?"_

 _"It's a crystal; nothing more."_

Sarah shook her head slightly, trying to think about something else. Think about how excited Toby will be to play with his new toys with his friends.

 _"But if you turn it this way, and look into it, it will show you your dreams."_

They brought over the gifts for Toby just as the pie and ice cream were finished up. Karen and her father had gotten him a new bike. He'd also gotten a Walkman like she had and some tapes, a board game, a few video games, a new baseball mitt and ball, and several action figures and comics. Sarah gave a copy of Labyrinth along with his poster from Lion King. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like he deserved to know about it.

Karen gave a slight disapproving look, but it softened when Toby turned ecstatic. Plays weren't exactly the ideal gift for a nine rambunctious nine year old boy with a wild imagination, but he was happy.

After a while three of the boys left while Toby and the remaining four played with his new and old toys in the backyard, making up stories and playing catch alike. Sarah sat on the back porch and kept an eye on them. She read over the play she wanted to audition for when she got back to New York, listening to her tapes with one half of the headphones moved off of her ear so she could still hear the boys somewhat. After five years of living in New York, she'd learned to multitask and weed out what sounds were important and what weren't.

David Bowie came on again, the same song as earlier. His voice seemed familiar but she couldn't place where she'd heard it before. To her, he was a faceless singer, a name and music. She'd never actually seen what he looked like, and if she had she'd know exactly who he reminded her of.

"I, I will be king.

And you, you will be queen."

She jumped as a stray throw sent the baseball her way, knocking the script out of her hands and the eerie familiarity of the words from her thoughts. Just love me, do as I say and I will be your slave. Toby ran over and said a quick 'sorry' before going back to his friends.

If she had been fifteen still, she probably would've said 'it's not fair' that she had to watch them. But, it was fair. She understood that now. When she was in high school, most of the day Karen had to deal with Toby and everything it took to run a household during the day, and deal with a fifteen year old girl who was still grieving a distant mother and dealing with puberty to boot. To be honest, considering she wasn't going out with friends or on dates, she would've probably been hanging out with Toby even if Karen and her dad stayed home.

She'd grown up, and after the Labyrinth she didn't mind taking care of Toby at all.

* * *

"Goodnight Sarah." Toby said hugging her. He and his friends were staying in the living room tonight so they'd have space to sleep.

"Goodnight." Sarah said ruffling his hair. She smiled as he went to lay down and went upstairs to her room, sitting down at her vanity after changing into pajamas. She brushed out her hair and looked at the box again, humming.

She set down the hairbrush and took off the lid of the box. There was a sort of fine dark blue material with specks of silver wrapped around an object. As she picked it up she saw a note at the bottom of the box, reading simply; 'Sorry to be late for your birthday.' The object was surprising light, as though it were made of air, but it had a definite weight in a way that was unexplainable.

She furrowed her eyebrows and unwrapped the object to reveal a crystal ball, causing her eyes to go big. It was exactly like the one the Goblin King had offered her nearly eight years ago.

 _"This is not a gift for an ordinary girl."_

She bit her lip and looked into the crystal, surprised at what she saw. Looking into the crystal, Sarah was surprised to find that she did not see her dreams. But then again, that wasn't true. She could vaguely remember what she saw and recognized them as dreams, but the dreams of a child, when she was only five or six years old.

She was looking at the Castle Beyond the Goblin City.

But not as it was when she last saw it; things seemed brighter and happier, albeit covered with a film of confusion. Coming into focus, she saw someone whom she hadn't spoken with in a few years; her mother. Yes, it was definitely her mother, with dark brown waves very much like her own, but she was so much younger. These weren't her dreams, were they?

"Why am I seeing this?" Sarah wondered aloud, just above a whisper. Outside the window, thunder rolled like a timpani of the gods, causing her to jump and look outside just in time to see a flash of lightning across the sky bringing a soft rain shower along with it. Was it an answer to her question? No, that's silly to think about she rationalized. I'm thinking too much like an English Major, trying to make the weather become a part of my own personal horror story.

That had been something that always bothered Sarah- the fact that her life seemed altogether too much like it was being written rather than lived. Her parent's divorce, her father's remarriage, the Labyrinth, her becoming a moderately successful actress and working towards directing. Everything made it seem like she was going through back-story rather than life. She was undergoing character development. And this crystal was just the icing on the cake. Or the ice cream on the peach pie... She would get a crystal when she'd just given her last reminder of that night to her brother, like something bigger making sure that she didn't forget about the Labyrinth yet.

It wasn't done with her yet.

Going over to sit on her bed, Sarah held the crystal up to the light of the window, trying to decide what exactly it was she was seeing. Thunder rolled once more and she focused on her mother and the Labyrinth. Questions filled her mind and for a moment she hoped that perhaps she could see into her mother's mind, discover why she was in the Labyrinth... Why she had left them.

There had to be a reason.

Lightning struck and the crystal lit up, sending her into a daydream much as the peach had so many years ago, but so very different the before and placing herself inside the memories of her mother.

* * *

August 7th, 1977.

Monday.

3;00pm.

 _The William's Household._

Linda Williams was having a very bad, rotten, stressful day.

It had begun with her six year old calling home at two in the morning from a friend's house because she was scared of the lightning storm that had raged outside. The rain had drenched the entire neighborhood, and when Sarah went outside that morning to run in puddles, Linda had slipped in the grass and become covered in mud.

Her husband had been called into work on his day off, and because she had Sarah to look after, Linda had been unable to go to an audition and lost a chance at much needed work, and her agent flaked on her again.

But this was the absolute worst part of the day.

Sarah had begged that she read her The Labyrinth again. She had read it countless times and over the past few weeks it had just made her more and more annoyed, reading of goblins and princes when she knew that in reality, you never got the prince.

Just the goblin.

Well, that wasn't completely true. But it was a sad fact that Linda had to admit that she had fallen out of love with her husband almost completely. and maybe that was part of what had set her off; the stress of monotony had just become too much.

As Sarah asked her questions and interrupted and tried to come up with songs for the play, Linda had snapped.

"Sometimes I wish the goblins would come and take you away, Right now."

The words had been meant to be powerless, taken right out of the play. But when Sarah's eyes went big and scared, and the thunder began again abruptly, Linda took her eyes from her daughter for perhaps a second as the windows blew open to reveal a large hawk as she screamed in alarm.

She had wished her daughter away and the only way to get her back was to run the Labyrinth.

* * *

Sarah's view shifted, she was her mother, she was herself as a child, she was laying on her old bed crystal in hand.

* * *

 _In the throne room in the Castle Beyond the Goblin City._

Sarah cried in fear for her mother. It was her biggest dream and worst nightmare, to be taken into the Castle and to be surrounded by goblins and mean fairies and most threatening of all, the Goblin King himself. But, a soothing voice sung to her calmly, and after a few minutes of realizing that she was not being harmed, Sarah calmed down enough to look up at the man who sang so softly to her. The first thing that registered to her was that he was old.

His face was lined faintly and had soft creases when he smiled to the little girl who sat with him. His hair had once been ebony, with the sheen of a raven's wing reflecting blue and purple and green as the light hit it, and she could've sworn that she saw one or two feathers poked into the long tendrils that escaped a short braid. His face was lightly bearded and framed with ears that held a slight point. Silver had begun to slip through around his hairline and ears, but with a crown of braided silver matching the hair it made him look all the more regal. His eyes were a deep blue. The same blue as Jareth's.

"What is your name, child?" He questioned after a moment,

"Sarah Williams." Sarah replied after a moment, stumbling over her last name a bit. He nodded thoughtfully, and waved his hand to magic a crystal into existence. Sarah cooed in awe, amazed at the display. An image of her mother running through the maze appeared before her,

"Your mother has more passion than most others have that run my Labyrinth." He stated thoughtfully. "She may win the Labyrinth after all. It would be a good time for her to do so quickly, as other matters are becoming more pressing." He had added the last part mostly to himself. For some reason Sarah was struck with the consideration that maybe those who traversed the Labyrinth gave it power.

Sarah looked up at him confused. "What's your name?" she asked shyly. Her curious nature had never wavered even in the face of danger.

"My name is Ezequiel." The Goblin King said, and before she could try to mispronounce his name he continued, "I am the Goblin King. However, you may call me Zee."

Sarah nodded, having the ability to pronounce one syllable much easier than many so confusing as Ezequiel, A goblin entered, running through with a moderate sized staff that was decorated with jewels, Sarah realized that Zee held one of the same general make. A young boy, perhaps twelve years old in appearance ran in after the goblin, shouting for him to return it in an attempt to be menacing, Zee chuckled slightly as the boy with white blond hair tackled the goblin to the ground to get back the staff.

"Jareth. Be careful." Zee stated solemnly to the boy, causing him to jump slightly and look to the Goblin King and the young Sarah sitting with him. He went over to the pair and murmured a 'sorry' before getting distracted by the crystal in the King's hand.

"Is there someone running?" He asked, dusting off and straightening his clothing.

"Yes. A good one." Zee replied looking into the crystal once more.

"Good."

* * *

 _In the tunnel of arms and hands. Linda._

"Up or Down?"

It was a very simple question and Linda needed to answer before they changed their minds. If they had minds that is; they were after all many many hands in a tunnel. How many seemingly simple questions had she answered throughout her life?

Will you marry me? Are you really quitting your job to become an actress? Are you going to keep the baby? Do you want a trim or a full cut? Do you trust me?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Just a trim. Yes, I do.

When she looked back on all of her choices she wondered why she had answered as she did, always a snap judgement with almost no thought involved. And since this morning she had been asked so many more...

Did she want her daughter back and safe? Of course! Up or down?

Down didn't seem like a good idea. It was dark and she was almost completely sure that there wasn't any light. It simply didn't feel like a good way to go. The hands holding her shoulders hurt, her whole weight being held in a few painful places on her body. She knew what was up. And maybe that was what she always chose. What was familiar.

Will you marry me? Yes, I know you well. Are you going to keep the baby? Yes, it is mine. My flesh and blood. How can I not? Do you want a trim or a full cut? Just a trim, it's what I'm used to. Do you trust me? Of course I do, I know you. She believed she always chose what was familiar.

But... Are you really quitting your job to become an actress? Yes.

It hadn't been something she'd done since high school but she knew that she had always loved it so, so much. It was unfamiliar and different, and one of the best things to happen to her. She had excelled until she had to be home for Sarah. And yes... that was pretty darn great too, even if she did get on her nerves.

Up or down? Up was familiar. Down was terrifying.

"Down." She said finally as the impatient hands passed her down deep into the darkness. It was a strange darkness, not made of shadows or color. It wasn't black it was just... nothing. But even as this realization of falling into nothingness hit her she realized that the darkness was retreating as her feet hit firmly on the ground.

Maybe that was the key to the Labyrinth. Choose what isn't familiar. Take risks.

* * *

Something in Sarah made her heart ache for her mother. She felt as though she had found something she had been missing for a long time.

* * *

Within the hour she reached the castle. All too easy wasn't it? But the joy of seeing her daughter safe again filled her to the point that she didn't care that it didn't make any sense.

Ezequiel discreetly sent them home, back to happiness. Sarah hugged her father but all the memories of the day faded into bedtime stories that had never been told.

The next day, Linda took the path that had been scaring her before. She left.

* * *

That must be the reason. Sarah could tell that her mother had found an answer to a question she didn't know she had been asking, and suddenly she was looking through the mismatched eyes of a young boy with spiky hair.

* * *

"Why did it end so suddenly?" A young Jareth asked Ezequiel.

"Her choices- they changed from scared of the unknown to brave." Ezequiel said slowly. He looked to his son. "Once they realize that they need to choose a new path, a new perspective, that is when the path becomes clearer than ever."

"It doesn't make any sense!" Jareth complained. "The darkness... is it gone for now?"

"It is never gone. It hides in shadows and under beds. It is within the pages of the books we forget to read, underneath the objects that lay forgotten. It preys on co-dependence and fear. Which is why the runners are so important."

"And what if they lose?" Jareth asked quietly. "Isn't it more fun for us to win?"

"There are no winners of our Labyrinth, Jareth. If it were a maze and we had a race... then there would be winners. But our Labyrinth is special, and when it looks into the heart and soul of a runner it creates one path that they must travel through in order to learn. Do you understand?" Ezequiel questioned smiling slightly.

"No." Jareth said in a somewhat bored tone. "If it creates the path why do we help sometimes?"

"It is the role we must play to help them the most, and we must stick to our script as necessary." Ezequiel assured.

"But- what if we don't want to act like that- what if it-"

"That is how we find our caretakers Jareth." Ezequiel cut him off. "When we don't know how to act because the Labyrinth stops telling us, that is how we know that they have power here."

* * *

Sarah sat up suddenly, giving her head a rush. "What?" she asked quietly aloud, looking around to see herself. Was it a dream?

Merlin was scratching on the door to get in and she got up to let him. Peeking out the window all signs of the storm from before had disappeared. The crystal was nowhere to be seen, and though her logic screamed at her to ignore the previous visions she warily pulled her blanket over herself after getting into bed.

Merlin jumped up on the bed and Sarah smiled a bit, wondering what advice he might give her if only he could speak.

"I guess I just had a strange dream Merlin." She said softly. "Goodnight."

Internally Merlin sighed, knowing that her experience would leave her disoriented. He could see the crystal on the floor under her bed when he came in, knowing she would probably discover it in the morning. He could sense a change coming, and wondered vaguely how the rest of their friends were handling the increasing shadows back home.

Sarah grabbed her music played and turned it on, closing her eyes and trying her best to disappear into the music. As she fell asleep the song she couldn't get out of her head came on once more just as the batteries died, and Merlin's ears perked up hearing it faintly.

 _"We could be heroes... just for one day."_

He hoped the words of the human's song could be true.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

 _ **The Place Where I Belong**_

The last day of Sarah's stay at her childhood home hadn't been particularly eventful, and although she loved her family she had become comfortable living by herself. Sure, a roommate was alright in Freshman year but now she enjoyed having a part of her day that was just hers. It all seemed very temporary to Sarah, places she lived- not really homes, at least it didn't really feel that way. She knew she didn't want to go.. not really. But she must. She didn't expect the things that would happen that day to happen.

Unpacking is easy. Clothes, secrets, stories, emotions... telling them, using them is the easy part. It's packing them up again that always seems harder. You always feel as if there is one more thing that you're missing, even if you did check over and over and over, marking off every little thing. Unpacking the idea that the crystal had all been some wild dream - that her 'overactive imagination' was the culprit had been the easiest thing for her to do that week.

Finding the crystal, the crystal that her imagination hadn't made up after all, underneath her old bed next to a dusty journal had been the hard part. She could still try in vain to pretend that what had happened was a dream though even though she didn't know why she would even have the crystal now.

Surely, it had to be some sort of a joke, right? But who would know about the crystals... Of all the stories she told, she never mentioned the crystal, the crystal that would let her see her dreams whenever she wished. It was unsettling. She decided to ignore it and stuff it in her bag, packing away the idea of all things being true until later.

"Here's a little going away present sweetie.' Sarah's dad said handing her a long covered tube when they reached the airport. She assumed it would be a poster and thanked him, giving him another hug, and she wondered vaguely when the next music-filled car ride with her father would be. Toby hadn't been able to come with them because he was trying out for football, but he mentioned in passing to Sarah that he also wanted to learn more about theater which had made her beam.

"Thanks for giving me a ride." Sarah said shifting a bit. She knew that he had to get to work.

"Do me a favor and don't open that until you get home." Her dad smiled, and she nodded. He handed her some extra batteries. She gave him a hug and tried not to think about homes.

* * *

 _"I can remember (I remember)_

 _Standing, by the wall (by the wall)_

 _And the guns, shot above our heads (over our heads)_

 _And we kissed, as though nothing could fall (nothing could fall)"_

The sky was full of clouds and rays of sunlight. This time Sarah had been lucky and gotten a window seat. Something about flying cleared her head. She thought about kisses for a moment, or rather a lack of them. It was never something she focused on much, not that she never considered it. Outside of auditions and acting, she was waiting for the right person it seemed.

A tawny owl followed closely, on the other side of the plane, but she couldn't see.

And a darkness followed the owl, but it could not see either.

* * *

It wasn't late when Sarah got back to her apartment, but she felt like she had been up for hours. All she wanted to do was order takeout, get changed into comfy clothes, and sleep.

Looking at her bag and remembering what was inside she sighed, knowing that sleeping wouldn't be an option while she was still worried about the crystal. And that journal... had it been hers? She couldn't remember ever really keeping a journal as a child, but that wasn't to say that it wasn't hers. And after all, it was in her room. She called her favorite Chinese restaurant and ordered her usual fare before settling down with her bag and beginning to unpack. She had popped out the David Bowie tape and went to put it into her boombox, reveling in the fact that she could finally listen to music out in the open again rather than having to hear her stepmother complain that she would disturb their neighbors.

She unpacked her clothes first, pretty much everything going straight into the laundry hamper. Next came her little toiletries like her hairbrush and toothbrush, and finally at the bottom of the bag was the journal and the crystal. She placed the crystal gently on her bedside and vaguely wondering if this were one of the same crystals that he had turned into a snake. As she was about to open up the journal the doorbell rang and she got up to go pay for her food, acutely aware of the tawny owl landing on her balcony looking inside. She came back, grabbing some napkins and a fork- she never quite got the hang of chopsticks- and sat back down.

* * *

Darkness grew and crept through the stepstones of the Labyrinth. Merlin knew that they needed to get the plan moving forward as quickly as possible. His dearest friend paced back and forth waiting for their king to return from the human realm. If only there were anything but whispers of whimpers he could use to reassure his friends, to let them know that this was permeating the aboveground as well.

A storm was begining to move in over the Labyrinth, and the tang of electricity filled the air around them. Now was not a good time for their protector to be gone, but it was necessary. Thunder rolled.

* * *

She flipped open the dusty journal and saw it hadn't been written in, at least not in the first few pages. She flipped through the book to see if there was anything that might give her a clue as to why it had been under her bed until she found it.

'Just for one day. Please.'

That was it. 'Just for one day'. What was that? 'Please.' She couldn't tell if it was her handwriting or not but that was all that was written within the journal. She closed the book with a snap and leaned back, opening up a fortune cookie.

'If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.'

Man, there was something crazy going on with her life right now. The journal, the crystal, the fortune cookie... Was it connected? Okay, maybe not the fortune cookie, she was pretty sure she had actually gotten that fortune before.

"But why?" Sarah asked aloud. Not to anyone, other than herself. Actually, if someone did answer she would probably have screamed and run out of her apartment. (Who wouldn't?) There was something familiar about the phrase 'Just for one day'. She tried to think of things that had lasted only a day, or less. Solar eclipses, days at the beach, little adventures through towns she visited once, tech marathons, none of these made sense to Sarah but-

 _"Though nothing will drove them away,_

 _We could be heroes,_

 _Just for one day._

 _We can be us, just for one day.."_

Sarah nearly screamed aloud when the connection clicked and she was brought back to memories of the Labyrinth, to saving Toby, to that single day. Getting up, she went and got the poster her dad had given her as a present, trying to give herself any reason at all the ignore all the signs pointing to the fact that her life was being taken over again by the Labyrinth.

She looked for a clear spot on the wall and tacked up the top then rolled down the poster, revealing one light eye and one dark. All too familiar to her. This was David Bowie.

But it was Jareth.

Sarah felt stupid for jumping to conclusions. There was no possible way that Jareth could be David Bowie- other than those eyes she couldn't see that much connection between the two. The black and white photo showed a young human man and that was that, no other connection than just so happening to look exactly like the Goblin King that had kidnapped her brother and made her go through a Labyrinth.

She knew very well that people had doppelgangers, going to her first auditions had let her know that was true enough. How many girls with long brown hair and bright eyes and slight figures had she met and chatted with at auditions, blurring into each other as that feeling of not being special slowly sinks into her bones...

Things her mother had gone through too- auditions and the Labyrinth as she had seen in her dreams from the crystal. Glancing to it now she wondered if she could see the dreams again. And so what if she did? Wasn't the purpose of being able to see her dreams to be able to see the ones she had wanted when she was younger-

Dreams of becoming an actress, like her mother, and getting out of the house. Of getting to live on her own and not having to always, always babysit her little brother.

She realized now that the reason she couldn't see those dreams was because she was living her dreams. Her experience in the Labyrinth had pushed her to go and get those dreams in an attempt to forget about the Labyrinth and she almost had managed to do it until now. So why was everything from her past coming forward now- why 'just for one day, please'? What for one day? She reached over to grab the crystal and shifted a bit, trying to mimic Jareth's movements from the night he appeared in her room.

"Other way." Came from behind her. Sarah turned and this time she really did scream at the sudden appearance of Jareth, dropping the crystal onto her bed and reaching for the journal, prepared to throw it at him.

"Now now Sarah." Jareth said picking up the crystal and extending his hand to give it to her and narrowly avoiding the journal as it flew past his hair."Your dreams have been calling out. Don't you remember?" She realized in a fleeting moment, that he looked like hell.

Sarah shifted a bit, not sure how to respond. She took it carefully while still holding the journal defensively. "What do you mean..." she asked. He grabbed the crystal and helped her turn it, allowing her to look into her recent dreams, and she resisted the urge to recoil from him, from the things he had done in the past even though the past few days had made her more and more confused.

The ballroom, the dance, the running. It was her going through the Labyrinth again. And also her walking through the palace. Fully exploring the gardens. It had been such a shame to be so focused on the task at hand to be unable to appreciate the beauty of the Labyrinth. Behind some of that, a sense of unease, something darker than what she could see as she stepped away to give herself some room to breathe, to figure out what she was doing.

"It's calling out to me." Sarah said aloud in realization. She looked to Jareth and wondered at why he was being so silent. He looked so different than before. The over-extravagant outfit he had worn before was replaced by clothes that actually matched her world. Jeans, a plain disheveled black shirt and jacket, and a tiredness behind mismatched eyes, worry, a pleading as she tried to read him like one of her books.

"It needs your help Sarah." I need your help Sarah- she realized with the smallest of flutters. Her shoulders softened slightly and she realized her music was still playing and numbly she went to shut off her boom box and picked up the thrown journal.

"You left this?" She asked and he nodded slightly. There were so many questions that she had. She decided on one for now. "Is it all?"

"Yes." Jareth replied looking to her with the slightest sign of hope.

"Just for one day." Sarah said slowly.

"Please." Jareth finished. She nodded and knew that she would be seeing the Labyrinth again.

* * *

Sometimes people forget falling asleep. They might get caught up in their dreams, fall asleep after an exhausting day. Sarah had never felt that she had that problem. She could always remember falling asleep- getting into her own bed and curling up in the dark surrounded by the familiarity of her own room.

It was waking in a new room, one she had never been in before that had confused her. The room was spacious, but not particularly large, with warm leaf-green walls. The bed she was in was far softer than the one from her own home, with many pillows surrounding her, as well as a flowy canopy held up by large, dark wood posts. There was a small balcony it seemed, as well as a desk and what looked like a closet. The room was simple, but not hers.

The air had a strange scent, as though the Labyrinth had recently been covered in rain, but she could not remember if she had noticed any storm. A look to the cloudless, orange sky gave her new clues to why it would be so, although beyond the range of her sight clouds gathered in the east.

Trying to remember what had happened the last night she thought about the conversation with Jareth.

 _"Why is the Labyrinth calling to me?" She had asked. "Do I need to go through it again? What is the point?"_

 _"It- it's hard to explain right now." Jareth said and she could remember seeing how distraught he seemed. "It's important because you help it."_

 _"So tomorrow then." She had decided she would save her questions._

 _Jareth had nodded. "Tomorrow."_

There was a knock on the door. Sarah glanced around and spotted a robe draped over a chair near the bed. Grabbing it she put it on and went to answer the door. Who else?

"Good morning, Sarah." Jareth said standing in the doorway looking down at her. "I trust you slept well." Sarah looked at him suspiciously and allowed him to come into the room, walking toward the balcony doors and opening them to let in morning air and light. He was out of the human clothes he had put on yesterday and back into the dramatic style that he had worn before, looking like the essence of magic, black feathered cape and all.

"Yes, I suppose so. I didn't realize that you were going to completely shift my life around." Sarah said glancing out the doors. The Labyrinth's gardens were glowing with the light of the sunrise, causing her breath to catch slightly at the realization she was really back. Jereth just chuckled slightly at her.

"Do you want to go see it or have breakfast?" Jareth questioned her. "There are many things to discuss but all with time."

"Goblin king's eat? I thought maybe you just sucked the life out of scared people who fail the labyrinth." Sarah joked, causing an amused growl that did something curious to her stomach and she just grinned.

"Breakfast it is then." Jareth said and with a snap of his fingers she was in a dress and flats and this time she was the one who growled, causing him to chuckle. He snapped his fingers again and she was in jeans, tshirt, cardigan, and flats and she felt a bit more comfortable.

"I'm keeping an eye on you magic-abusing-goblin-king." Sarah said crossing her arms and perhaps it was her tone or the look on her face but Jareth was chuckling again.

"Come on, we don't want to waste any of the day."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

 _ **The Power of the Labyrinth**_

Breakfast was fairly uneventful in retrospect, but Sarah just had so many burning questions about the Labyrinth and her friends and most importantly why she was back now. So when a goblin came to speak to Jareth in an urgent manner before causing him to rise suddenly from his chair, she couldn't help but perk up at the possibility of something interesting happening that might give her some clue as to why she was needed in the Labyrinth.

"We need to go." He said to Sarah offering a hand which she ignored. He brushed that off as she stood and followed him out and down.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked him in confusion, to which he just looked at her with his mismatched eyes with an unusual look that she didn't quite know how to name.

 _"A child has been wished away."_

* * *

Down the long hallways they went, into the central room that functioned much as a viewing area Sarah could just barely remember from that dream she had looked into while she was visiting home. "Stay here. Look into this if you wish." Jareth spoke turning on his heel to stop her just as they entered the room. In his outstretched hand he held the crystal which she had seen so many times before and without really knowing why she took it from him and he was gone in that instant.

"You have so much explaining to do." Sarah muttered to herself as she looked away from the crystal in her hand, not wishing to be suddenly brought back into old and confusing dreams as she had been before. The weight of it felt different from before, in her old room it had seemed heavier and now it was almost as though she held a solid soap bubble. Why on earth did this all come back now? It was almost as though she were more in a dream now than a reality, and a spike of something much like fear went through her at the possibility of it.

Before she could think to contemplate her own question a goblin appeared before her, holding a child that looked scared and confused, with tears running down their face. A pang of guilt hit her in the chest, realizing this must've been how Toby had felt as a babe, and something deep within her let her know that she had once felt that confusion as well. All she could think to do now was to protect this child, to make them feel safe much as Ezequiel did so many years ago.

On sheer instinct Sarah reached a tentative hand towards the child; a young boy with dark hair, not an older than possibly two or three years old. The boy did not shy away and let her run a soothing hand on his head to calm him. The goblin passed the boy to her before running off, muttering of preparations and protections as she took the boy close to her. She could remember holding Toby as such after one of his true nightmares, talking of things within the darkness. She walked over to the throne where she did not know Jareth usually sat and talked soothingly to this young boy who reminded her so much of her brother whom she had wished away until he had stopped crying and all but fallen asleep.

"You are far more skilled than our usual goblin caretakers." Came that voice from across the room. Sarah looked up and moved her hair back behind her ear.

"Was... was I wished away? Is that why you wanted me to see my dreams so badly?" She could not resist asking the question that she had let herself forget in the last few days of traveling and confusion. Jareth stood in a calm silence but his mismatched eyes gave away the answer she had been searching for. "I'm not supposed to remember then. Then why does Toby? And the man, that Zee... he was your father."

Sarah shifted the young boy she held who had drifted into a much needed sleep. She realized that familiar clock had appeared in the room as well. "You are much younger than I always assumed you to be."

"Time is a very strange thing Sarah." Jareth said with a small smile. He knew she would work it out on her own given enough time- but would she be willing to earn the rest of the story? "Here, in the Underground, it is much different especially. You have seen that well enough, given certain perimeters the magic of the Labyrinth can bend time as it chooses."

"You have changed Jareth." Sarah said, almost an echo of her personality in the Labyrinth nearly eight years ago. That defiance, the strong willed-ness.

"You have changed as well. The Labyrinth changes us all almost completely as it does itself." Jareth replied and Sarah rolled her eyes at the fact he had fallen back into speaking through riddles.

"In that memory dream, my mother went down and the Labyrinth became simple for her." Sarah said, pointing out the obvious he had known she would try to dispute. "But when I chose down it was a mistake. It was a whim. And then I had to start all over."

Jareth contemplated as he went over to check on the child in her arms. "There are lessons that the Labyrinth likes to teach the runners." He took back the crystal and turned it to show a young man with dark hair to match the boys, his father most likely. "The runners almost never truly wish to send away the children. Most of the time there is a conflict within their own life they do not realize they must overcome. For the child, these adventures are supposed to be nothing more than a dream. A child with a vivid and almost dare I say dangerous imagination."

"What happens when they decide they do not want to run?" Sarah asked quietly.

"We give them a home. We try our best to, anyway. There are many creatures in the Underground Sarah, and not all homes are what one might normally think. Some take on new forms, new roles, and work to make sure that other wished away children are protected. Take your family's pet Merlin for example. He is an awfully old dog now isn't he? And do you remember when your family got him?"

"It was... right about the time my mother left." Sarah realized, wondering how it had never occurred to her before.

"And he has been around since I was a child, given the name of Ambrosius, a good friend of a certain Sir Didymus if I do believe." Jareth offered to her.

"I had almost forgotten of him... of everyone really... I stopped seeing them a few years ago." Sarah said sadly. She could remember the last time she had tried to call on her old friends whom she had been so unsure of their actual existence. They never came and hadn't since then.

"I realize you have many questions Sarah, and I am willing to give answers as I can but there are things to attend to first." Jareth said, carefully lifting the boy out of her arms. "We must first move him to a more comfortable bed and then we must go into the Labyrinth so that I can explain more."

After they had dropped off the young boy in a homely looking to be watched over by kinder goblins. Sarah looked to Jareth, seeing him peer through one of his crystals as the woman whom this child was kin to faced the aggravating challenges of the Labyrinth. It was such an abrupt change of scene- the soothing sleep of this child as opposed to the stony, harsh lines of the Labyrinth. She felt embarrassment remembering how hard it had been to even enter into the main part of the Labyrinth, to look past the appearances of the rough outer wall and enter into beauty of the inner Labyrinth.

And... now that she thought of that, she realized how superficial she had been before that test. When she had thought about acting, she always thought of gorgeous actresses in beautiful clothing with perfect hair and makeup. They always showed the most beautiful emotions onscreen while being lovely and elegant. She had always wanted to be that pretty- she had obsessed with makeup and dress-up. Since then she had managed to let go of a few things, and with her focuses not so pointed in on appearances she had more time on her hands, and she really got to appreciate the ways that she could act- and write. More time and focus let her get into college and win a scholarship, and she knew she would be a much different person had she not been changed by the Labyrinth. She would've never gotten away from home.. never met her best friend.

Coming back into focus Sarah took a moment to take in her surroundings. They had been walking through the normal, more green gardens of the palace and it now felt as though they were walking into autumn itself, and she felt a small smile as she recognized signs of winter further down the path. A chill began to permeate the air and Sarah realized some of the perks that a cloak such as Jareth's could have, aside from adding to the mysterious and handsome look. As if reading her mind and sensing her shivering, he moved to take off his cloak but she stopped him.

"No- that's far to cliche." Sarah said, trying to remember the anger she had had before this morning as a small smile slipped onto her mouth. "I'm fine. Thank you though."

Although he put back on his own cloak she felt a thick soft fabric cover her arms and shoulders and sturdier shoes replace her more flimsy flats. She looked over a long sleeved green sweater and shawl that had appeared on her torso and arms as if by magic, and of course, it was by magic. "Where are we going?" She asked finally as snow sprinkled in then began to fall more heavily as they walked.

"We are going to meet an old friend, as I mentioned before." Jareth said slowing his pace slightly in the snow. She sped up to match his pace, tired of lagging behind. She was still as spirited as she had been so many years ago, and kindnesses aside she wasn't about to let go of how rude he had been before, how hurt she had felt after leaving the Labyrinth and how much she had needed to adapt to her new perspectives on life.

"Sir Didymus- I thought that he lived in the B-" Sarah started but was cut off.

"You do not honestly believe that he truly lives in a Bog of Eternal stench?" Jareth said giving her a vaguely concerned and defensive look. "He lives on the edge of spring up the path, working with both winter and spring in a balance. He works closely with the avian wise-man you met once before. His presence in the Bog was to that of a lesson of taking responsibility of your actions for you and Hoggle." Sarah took notice of his proper use of names and explanations he gave to make points. She studied him a moment, trying to decide if he was being fully honest or just trying to impress her. She decided to let the matter drop for now and looked through the forests.

"Why did you bring me back here?" She asked after a few moments of silence. She had mixed feelings about everything and here she was once more, wondering why her, and falling back into that old rhythm. It's not fair. Life isn't fair. But it was fair... she had agreed to be here for one day, to get answers. "You were so cruel to me and all my friends here, and you made it so hard for me to walk through. You drugged me and tried to seduce me when I was only 15, to turn my baby brother into a goblin.

Jareth was silent and they walked onward through the thick snow. She was thankful for his small gifts to her but could not let go of the past without an explanation.

"You are special, Sarah." He said after in-taking a deep breath. He glanced to her, his odd colored eyes bright against the cold of the snow. "You had been here before, and you always kept that sense of imagination. It was heartbreaking that the only way you came back here, the only way that you returned was for the wrong reasons."

His jaw clenched and unclenched, showing his anger and confusion of that time before. "My father kept an eye on you, and sent Ambrosius to help you. I grew up knowing that you were special but my father never explained why. I had been given this built up image of you only to have it roughly torn down by the reality of a spoiled child convinced that life wasn't fair."

His words hit her oddly hard, and she recognized it was true. Only a moment ago had she thought those exact words.

"I was angry and I let that emotion interfere with the workings of the Labyrinth. I wanted to test you, to see you fail and let all of that image disappear, but everything I threw at you, you overcame." Jareth explained, coming to a stop. "That was wrong for me to do. And I'm sorry for doing that to you. But you know what it's like to let your emotions fall into control, and to let your own loss and betrayals take over your actions, don't you?"

She knew that he knew the answer to that, but it still hurt too much to think about her mother. Up ahead she could see a cottage and the sight of colorful flowers.

"What did your father think that I was going to be? I was just a child. Nothing special." Sarah said keeping her eyes focused on the ground as the snow melted under their feet.

"He was sure that you were our Believer. Our Chosen One. Our Caretaker. The next one to take care of those who are lost and cast away." Jareth said. "I would leave you be if things had not gotten so bad here."

"Bad- what do you mean?" Sarah asked but the door to the cottage opened before she could receive an answer, and they were greeted by Sir Didymus himself.

* * *

Sir Didymus offered Sarah a small and greying paw to shake, and glancing behind him she recognized the same kooky old man she had once met with a bird on his head, working away at a table full of glass bottles, papers, and ingredients she didn't recognize. His fingers moved nimbly and quickly among the ingredients and she wondered if this was truly the same man she had met eight years ago in the twists and turns of the Labyrinth's gardens.

"It is so good to see you my Lady." Didymus said ushering them into the small cottage. The cottage was small but reminded one of home, with warm colors blending like the outside world did, transitioning winter into spring and back again. Fresh greenery was planted in pots and vases throughout the small house and all about them the magic of the Labyrinth shown through in every crack and crevice. The more one looked around the room the more that the small house showed signs of being different from her world.

He gave a pointed look to Jareth before continuing. "And in such good timing with the task at hand. We have been preparing for the upcoming battle where we shall fight most valiantly!"

"Fight? Who said anything about a fight?" Sarah asked with concern.

"She doesn't know about that yet." Jareth interjected calmly, moving into the room more. "We were just about to go into more detail when you greeted us. Perhaps this is better suited to you and Sir Avian to explain however." The energy of the room shifted and Sarah could feel that awkwardness of being the only one in a room who didn't know something, and she watched as Sir Didymus moved to speak with the man she presumed to be Sir Avian.

"I would've hoped you'd have explained this to her before bring her here Jareth. You are so erratic with your actions at times." Sir Avian spoke and Sarah's eyes widened slightly to hear him speak a full sentence without falling asleep. "Come and sit my dear, and I shall explain."

Sir Didymus went to go put a kettle of water over the fire and Jareth moved to the window, looking out at the winter side of the forest broodingly, hiding what Sarah was surprised to recognize as embarrassment.

"She is so strong willed and hard headed that if I did not let her believe I was being selfish she would've never believed me." He said defensively, jaw clenching and unclenching as he turned to look at them again. Didymus brought out cups and sugar and went to check the fire. Sir Avian sat up slightly and waved a hand to send an old collection of dusty papers loosely bound into his hands from the bench he sat a before.

"For as long as we have lived in the Underground there has always been a Labyrinth, and with that Labyrinth the runners and its caretakers. No one is entirely sure who built the Labyrinth, but the architecture throughout represents many different races and time periods of the Underground, the most notable of which being the castle that was built by the goblins. I am certain they would enjoy to take credit for all the Labyrinth, but there is far too much old magic running through its veins for any one person to have created by themselves." Sir Avian began, settling into a rhythm as he poured tea into the mugs. He handed one to Sarah and she let the warmth of the cup sink into her hands as she took a small sip.

"The magic of the Labyrinth is unique in every way, and it flows through the walls and paths and into all who live there. Many wish to take the magic and to take the Labyrinth. For this we must fight and Sir Didymus and myself both know this well, for had we not been in touch with the magic it is likely we would've died many years ago in battle or of old age. No one is certain of its purpose- some say that it steals children's youth for power, other that it saves lost children, but I think the one thing that has remained true is the runners. The Labyrinth affects us all when a runner goes through in order to affect them properly, whether it is to create a great and terrible evil Goblin King, to make a crazy old man, or to create a coward." He said, giving the slightest of smiles. If that were true, Sarah realized, it would mean everything she knew had been wrong. Sir Didymus- her sweet yet cowardly knight… was someone completely different. And Jareth- what was he like without the influence of the Labyrinths magic? She made a mental note to talk to them all when a runner was not in the Labyrinth.

"You mentioned caretakers. And .. a Believer?" Sarah asked, her voice quieter with the realizations of what she thought to be true made her question all that she had known to be true about this land. She remembered the boy and that overwhelming desire to make sure he was safe.

"There are always two caretakers. Sometimes they are two men, or two women. Or one man and one woman. There have been caretakers who do not define themselves either way. They have been of many species. The most recent caretaker was Jareth's father, Ezequiel. The most recent believer was his mother, a woman of the fae kind. Since her death we have been unable to find a Believer to take her place, to keep the magic fresh in the Labyrinth." Sir Avian said carefully, taking Sarah's hand softly. "The magic has only been at half strength since Ezequiel died nearly 8 years ago now. It only comes close to full again when someone runs the Labyrinth, and in recent years those numbers have dwindled. We cannot fight the darkness that wishes to take over without full power."

Sarah looked to him concerned and confused, part of her wanting to help and part of her not wanting to get involved. Sir Avian took a breath.

"Sarah. We think, and Ezequiel thought that you are the next Believer."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

 _ **Believer**_

Sarah had no words.

And trust her, for an English major having no words was a rare moment.

She could remember being in college on the first day of one of her writing classes and meeting an odd girl that would soon become one of her best friends. They were supposed to take stories that they loved or knew very well and rewrite them with a twist. She wrote about her experience in the Labyrinth and the only person that didn't think it was ridiculous was that girl.

Sarah had given herself a better purpose in that story, trying to make a reason for it.

"Sarah, dear."

She was awakened from her day-dream by the soft words of Sir Avian.

"Sarah, we need you to stay with us." He reiterated. "If you care about this land at all, about the Labyrinth and the lessons it teaches, the home it provides to so many creatures and lost children, will you please try to be the Believer?"

"You said that the last Believers were fae and… I'm not certain. How am I supposed to fill that sort of a position? I'm just a twenty three year old girl." Sarah said taking her hand back from Sir Avians and setting down the cup of tea. "I am so incredibly not special, don't you realize?"

"That isn't true Sarah." Came that soft voice of Jareth, speaking up for the first time in what seemed like forever. "If my father thought you were special then you are. You have always been connected to the Labyrinth. Why do you think you've always known the story, you've been here three times in one life, when most only come here once. You agreed to come even without knowing why. You are special to this land."

Sarah shook her head at his words, wanting- needing to get air, to get away from here for even just a few moments, and they didn't stop her as she fled the cottage just as she used to flee the room as a teenager, to cry and angst about how unfair her life was, but this time it was because she needed to make a choice.

She wasn't ready to make that sort of decision- to become a caretaker and savior for a land that through all the ups and downs she had loved and dreamt about ever since she was just a child. She did not know where she was running to but she did not care, and her feet took her further into the spring forest and away from all her problems. After what felt like years she let herself stop and sit next to a large lake of clear water and she took a moment to look at her reflection. She still looked like herself, long brown hair and brown eyes, an expression like she was deep in thought at all time. The water was soothing to her, and she dropped a hand to the water to create small waves traveling outward and uncovering a scene in the depths of the water.

She was acting onstage- actually, no, she wasn't. That was her mother. The theater was small but the audience was joyous and excited, and she looked so happy to be doing what she loved. The scene changed to her father and Karen reading a story to Toby, and she recognized the love that they held for their family. She really didn't mind Karen and she was part of her family, even if they didn't get along all the time. She felt bad for blaming Karen for her mother leaving, which wasn't true at all, but that was something they had to deal with as with all things- some days were better than others.

The scene shifted again, this time to a familiar head of light brown hair and glasses hanging on the tip of her nose. It was her friend Bailee, working hard on the set of a new play she had been able to help design. She was the one who had given her the David Bowie tape, that tape that had put everything into motion here. Scenes moved through faster now, showing her Ludo, Hoggle, Ambrosius, Sir Didymus- she saw Sir Avian as well, and finally Jareth.

It wasn't difficult for her to understand that those who she saw she cared about.

All the information coming at her at once was making her confused, but now she was sorting things out in her head a bit, and from the words Sir Avian had spoken she understood so much more than she would ever have thought to. Eight years ago Ezequiel had died, and eight years ago she had run the Labyrinth, and it wasn't surprising that Jareth would've been in deep pain at that time, pain he could not show her so instead he embodied the Goblin King even more so, being condescending and just wanting to be alone. And she had seen him as nothing more than a - a monster.

 _Your eyes can be so cruel._

The guilt of her own actions weighed on her shoulders, and though she knew it wasn't her fault she still felt so terrible about it. She decided that she would clear the slate, and approach Jareth in a new way- like meeting a stranger. The scene on the water blurred and was replaced by her own reflection with Jareth behind her, and when she turned he was there, not speaking but watching.

"I'm sorry." Sarah said, "I can't ima-"

"There's no time for that." Jareth said sparking her confusion.

"What do you mean no time?"

He pointed to the far edge of the lake where a darkness had crept in, poisoning the life around it and killing the trees. When she turned to look she realized that it was moving and many dark creatures with deep red eyes were traveling, surprising her enough that she recoiled from the water and standing. At her movement the dark creatures made a horrible sound she could only imagine to be that of nightmares, and it started moving towards them faster.

"Take my hand." Jareth commanded, Goblin King showing himself and she didn't question it. In an instance they were back at the castle.

"What was that?" Sarah demanded, moving back from him as she tried to catch her balance.

" _That is what is destroying the Labyrinth._ " Jareth said.

" _That_ is what's destroying the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked in disbelief. Those things, those creatures that looked like shadows with red eyes spreading darkness over the beauty of the Labyrinth, taking its very essence- that was what they were preparing to fight? It didn't seem possible for something like that to have taken over so easily, the Labyrinth had always put up a fight, even when she was trying to cheat while walking through it.

"I've just said that." Jareth said in slight annoyance.

" _It hides in shadows and under beds. It is within the pages of the books we forget to read, underneath the objects that lay forgotten._ " Jareth said, quoting his father's' words from so many years before. "The runners help the Labyrinth gain strength, but not so much as a true Believer."

She was still a bit unbalanced from the sudden transport back to the castle, and she let herself sit down a moment to realize what had just happened. The doors at the side opened and in came Sir Didymus and Sir Avian, as well as Ambrosius which surprised her, but nevertheless she was happy to see him.

"We've sent the message to Hoggle and he has said he is coming." Sir Didymus said to Jareth, and for a moment Sarah wondered how long she had been sitting at that lake.

"Will we see Ludo?" She asked out of the blue as she stood once more, curious about her larger, rock loving friend. A silence fell across the room and she looked between them in confusion. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Ludo was taken by the Darkness." Sir Avian said. "As well as many creatures in the Labyrinth. The Fierys were the first we noticed, as well as a few goblins disappearing on the outer edges." Before she could ask what she could do he continued.

"We do not know what is happening to the creatures taken." He stated, taking her hand gently as he had before. "The only thing we can do is fight, fight and try to help restore the Labyrinth to its full power."

"I don't know if I can." Sarah looked to Jareth again. She was angry with him once again, angry he had used her dreams against her, to get her to come here, and angry he had let this go so far. "You couldn't have explained?"

"I hoped that your own wishes to see the Labyrinth again, that it was calling to you and you to it would've been enough for you to want to come. But no, you always have to presume it is my fault." Jareth replied, throwing up a hand. "You would not have those dreams, the capability to use the powers of the crystal as I do, if you did not have at least some power. You know your own story."

"What story?" Sarah asked, trying to figure out what he meant.

"The story about a girl and a King of the Goblins. The story about a poor girl who was overworked and hadn't figured life out quite yet, a fifteen year old girl with special powers. The girl the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with. And why shouldn't he? She was made up to be so much more than meets the eye. And then all he found was someone who took and took and took, gifts given, time spent, magic lived, and then threw it back in his face because she had made a mistake."

Oh.

The story she had told Toby eight years ago, with slight alteration.

"You don't love me." Sarah retaliated after a beat. She could feel the uncomfortable chill of words unspoken hang between them, the stares of the goblins and Sir Didymus and Avian on them as she spoke. It was something that neither of them had discussed, with each other or with others. "It was supposed to be a fairy tale. Goblins were not supposed to show and take away that child. You were cruel."

 _Your eyes can be so cruel… Just as I can be so cruel._

She turned to Sir Avian. "Is there a way I can give my power to the Labyrinth without having to stay here? I have a life at home, a family and friends and a future."

"I am afraid not Sarah. Not a way that we know of. We need you." Sir Avian spoke thoughtfully, trying to bring back a calm into the tenseness of the situation that had seeped in like cold. "You are still influenced from the Darkness, emotions run high as always with it, it feeds off of your anger and resentment. We don't have much time but I believe that it is necessary that you think this over after calming down."

Sarah nodded, not really wanting to secede to that. She knew what her choice would be, but any way to get out of this room and away from those that made her so angry and confused she would take.

"At dinner then, we will discuss this again. And we will be prepared for whatever you so choose. The fate of our land may very well depend on you." Sir Avian spoke calmly.

 _No pressure._

She returned to the room she had woken up in that morning, pleased to see a version of her walkman had survived the trip. Putting headphones on she drowned out her thoughts with music, and even though he bore a distinct resemblance to Jareth, she did not mind the songs of David Bowie, and let the lyrics carry her through the hours.

 _"And you, you can be mean_

 _And I, I'll drink all the time_

 _'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact_

 _Yes we're lovers, and that is that_

 _Though nothing, will keep us together_

 _We could steal time, just for one day_

 _We can be heroes, forever and ever_

 _What'd you say?"_

* * *

Sometimes a person just has to be alone for a while to become their truest self.

As humans we become hundreds of different people our lives depending on who we're with and where we go. With our best friend we are one, a group of friends another, our family yet another. We are different people at home, work, school, at concerts, in coffee shops, under stress, going shopping, watching a play, meeting new people, and it's all these people combined that is 'me'. But when there's no one else around, when you're alone at home or in this case a nice room that has been prepared for you, you can start to discover your truest self.

Sometimes we don't know who that is, or have lost that self. It scared Sarah that she had been so affected by something in the Labyrinth- Jareth or that Darkness or all the information being thrown at her- so much that when she sat down to just be alone she was left trying to figure out why she had gotten that way.

Yes, Sir Avian had been right about needing some alone time, some time to process about everything she had just learnt and let it settle in her mind. It had been about an hour since the batteries in her walkman had run out, and she had plenty of time to mull over everything she had said earlier. It wasn't fair of her to say those things, to call out that which she hadn't ever attempted to discuss with Jareth, especially after she had just promised herself to give him a clean slate now that she understood the Labyrinth better than she had before, but something in her had made her so angry that he didn't tell her why he wanted her to come here. Angry and… sad.

Smad?

She needed to apologize, maybe even have an actual discussion like grownups with them. And make that decision. She hoped that in the very least she would be able to visit her family, her friends… even if she had to give up her life. The only thing that Sarah knew for sure was that she wasn't going to become the reason why the Labyrinth fell into the wrong hands.

A little while ago a goblin had brought her some spare clothes for dinner, something a little dressier than she was used to but she supposed that considering this was still the castle in the goblin city and she was still having dinner with a king and other knights- it wouldn't hurt her to wear a simple skirt and blouse, and she was trying not to worry too much about everything she would have to discuss.

A quiet knock on the door drew her attention away from her thoughts. She got up and went to open up the door to see who was there. Before she had even had the chance to open the door she heard the familiar, half croak half croon voice of her dear friend Hoggle. "Sarah? I heard about earlier and wanted to check on ya."

She opened up the door and offered a hug which he received willingly and she couldn't help but smile. It's sort of funny how great hugs can feel sometimes and how much you just miss them. Living alone had been fine for the most part but there gets to be a certain coldness that creeps into your shoulders and arms, the type of cold that no matter how many blankets you curl up in you just can't seem to warm up, that can only be rectified by a hug. Pulling back Sarah took a moment to look at Hoggle, and noted how he had changed since the last time she had seen him and their friends, reminding her again just how much she really didn't know about all of them.

"How are you, Hoggle?" Sarah asked after a moment of searching for the right words.

"Everyone's been focused on trying to keep the Labyrinth safe, which isn't as easy as ya' would think." Hoggle said shifting a bit on his feet. "I go around and make sure tha' no new darkness is showing up where we have beings living."

So it had been going on for a while then, and worse than she thought. She nodded a bit.

"Can I ask you something? About the last time we were in the Labyrinth." Sarah asked him, wanting to know a few things about their friendship.

"We have a spot of time." Hoggle said going to sit down for a moment. "They said you would likely have questions." That didn't make her feel any better about this.

"You kept going back and forth between being trustworthy in the Labyrinth? Why?" She asked first after thinking things over.

"I was supposed to help you but I was also supposed to, in my thoughts, be sort of an idea of what happens when ya let yourself get pushed around by everyone." Hoggle explained thoughtfully, looking to her with what she hoped was encouragement.

"I was trying to thankyou for saving me- and when I kissed your cheek, you kept asking me not to and then we were in the bog of eternal stench. I never thought about why you wouldn't want me to thank you." Sarah continued, wondering if her suspicions had any actual basis of meaning. Arguably that could've been a consent issue… but with the peach later…

"That has always been a bit confusing fer me as well." Hoggle said getting up. "Because Jareth said that he would send me into the bog of eternal stench if ya did, even though it would've been of his own will. Honestly, Sarah, I think he was just a bit jealous of the possibility."

Oh.

"Anyway Sarah if ya don't have any more questions I really think we oughta get going to see the others. Have you made your decision whether to help us?" Hoggle asked, offering a hand. "No one will judge you if ya don't want to give up your life Sarah."

"No, I know that." Sarah said taking his hand and heading from the room.

"I've decided that I'm going to do it."

* * *

Entering into the grand dining room Sarah was reminded that she was in a castle in the underground, taking in the beauty of the hall that they had all gathered into sit and marveling at all the food that was set upon the table. Although she had expected to see only Jareth, Sir Avian, and Sir Didymus this was very much not the case. Goblins, fairies, elves, humanoids, and creatures she had no name to connect to sat at the table, all chatting and sipping beverages from mugs and glasses of all shape and size. They were dressed in assorted styles varying from old renaissance lace and muslin to more modern cotton and silk, and to coverings like she had never seen before with beautiful colors and glistening crystals. She made a mental note to thank Jareth and his goblins for sending her a change of clothes, because she realized now that in her jeans and sweater she would've been terribly underdressed for this dinner.

Escorted by Hoggle she made her way towards the head of the long table to their seats, seeing Jareth and Sir Didymus chatting among the others at the table as old friends, discussing something with a serious expression. She had vaguely wondered before what it was like to live in old times of war, and in a world of magic like this she knew that it could be much, much worse than what she had seen people go through. They all seemed so connected, so deep in thought and the murmur of all their conversations mixed to one until she realized she had lost track of where Jareth had gone.

"Allow me to help you to your seat."

Speak of the devil.

Jareth took her arm gently from Hoggle and led her to a chair near the head of the table, and she wondered what she would've done to deserve sitting there, forgetting their beliefs and her role in them. She realized she hadn't heard about what happened to the child and his father who was running. Taking her arm away from Jareth she sat down as he did, looking around for any signs of where that child may have gone.

"They are gone Sarah, you need not worry." Jareth spoke again, as if to read her mind. Looking to him she was caught by those mismatched eyes and she wondered how much she looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, eyes wide and trying to take in everything. "I trust you have made your decision?"

She didn't realize that the hall had fallen quiet at their conversation, and felt somewhat embarrassed to realize it was so. She nodded slightly in assertion, giving the final and most important "I will do it."

Jareth stood again to address the hall. "Ladies and Gentleman, goblins, fairies, elves, fae, birds and so much more. Over the past months we have all been dealing with the increased threat of the darkness as it encroaches upon our home and takes our friends. As you know that since my father, King Ezequiel passed away we have been searching for the Believer to help restore the Labyrinth's power." Murmurs ran through the crowd and suddenly Sarah felt eyes on her, "I, and I am sure you are as well, am pleased to inform you that we believe we have found The Believer." Cheers rang out and people smiled, approaching her to shake her hand and give encouraging words. She had done nothing and yet they treated her like someone famous and she felt off about it, undeserving. After a few moments things had settled down and food had been served, causing the spotlight to move off of her once more and she hadn't felt so relieved in a very long time. Dinner went on rather uneventfully after that, discussing with Sir Avian just exactly how they would go through the process of her becoming the Believer, fully and truly. A few people still came up to hug her, shake her hand, kiss her hand occasionally but she got a little more comfortable to it. The only thing that she felt uncomfortable with during the meal was knowing- feeling that Jareth was watching over her, especially in interactions with more unusual and strange meetings with people.

The five of them exited to a small office type room, full of books and trinkets just as Sir Avian and Sir Didymus's home was.

"Now you just wait here while we get the book and the pendant." Hoggle said to Sarah, leaving with Sir Didymus and Sir Avian into an adjoining room, all too conveniently leaving her alone with Jareth. The tenseness from earlier was still apparent between them and she wondered who would dare to break the silence, or if they even would. She couldn't stand it really, standing in the awkward silence with nothing but unease to fill the space between them.

"I'm sorry. About earlier. For over reacting." She said after a beat, all rushed out words and nervousness that seemed to make him smile so smugly, even for just a brief moment at her own flustered appearance.

"I am not one to judge you for past actions." Jareth said calmly, looking at one of the shelves of trinkets on the wall. "Especially given the fact that I over reacted to that as well. I had no right to talk about your story."

Sarah nodded a bit to his response. "You know, it seems like all we ever do is fight and apologize." She said gently. "I- I just want to try to give things a clean slate." He chuckled slightly at this and she wondered if she had said something wrong.

"A clean slate then. No more petty arguments about the past then?" Jareth questioned. Sarah nodded.

"Like meeting for the first time in a very long time." Sarah agreed. She offered a hand to shake with a small smile. She really hoped this would improve thing, even though she knew better than to hope that everything would be fixed. "Hello, I'm Sarah. I've been told I may be the next Believer."

"I am Jareth, the Caretaker. It seems we will be working together for a long time if things go smoothly." Jareth replied taking her hand gently.

"It's only forever." Sarah said, unable to help the reference.

"Let's just hope it's not long at all." Jareth replied, glancing towards the doorway. The other three had been standing there patiently watching.

"Sarah my dear, are you ready?" Sir Avian asked, book in hand. She nodded and Sir Didymus put an amulet into her hand, a beautiful sapphire cut into the shape of a butterfly, carved with symbols she didn't have the knowledge to decipher.

"Let us begin then."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

 _ **What Doesn't Kill Me**_

Sarah looked over the sapphire pendant a moment before looking back to Sir Avian, wondering how things would piece together, what went into this whole process. "What do I need to do?" She asked after a beat.

"You have already touched the power of the Labyrinth, made it bend to your will by asking it politely as such. Words have the greatest powers of them all, which I am certain you understand." Sir Avian said with the slightest smile, and it was true. Words were wonderful things, and they were responsible for her wishes to be an actress and to study literature. By themselves, words are descriptors, names, and puzzles, but put together they can create that which has never been created before and inspire that beyond our comprehension. Stories and worlds can inspire generations and instigate more people to add to those worlds because of the love they carry for them.

"So… there are words I need to say, words that carry power. How come I've never been able to do it before?" Sarah asked curiously.

"You have to say the right words- Jareth, I am sure, can help teach you spells. But you my dear have said your right words twice before." Sir Avian reassured her, and it clicked. Gods, how could she be so dense? Of course she had used words properly when having the Goblins take Toby away and by telling Jareth that he had no power over her. Both times she had truly believed, even for just a brief moment, those words, and gave them that energy. That…. That explained so much.

"You have to believe the words you speak." Sarah said slowly, looking to them. "That's why-"

"They're the Believer." Sir Didymus popped up, finishing for her. "Now now Lady, put on the pendant and read the words, believe them, and then recite them." He said handing her an old and dusty book turned to a page full of text, with a smaller section penned in gold ink. Holding the book in one hand she slipped on the butterfly cut pendant over her neck and looked to the four surrounding her for some reassurance. Hoggle gave her a careful thumbs up while Sirs Avian and Didymus nodded. Jareth remained in the background slightly, but gave the slightest of smiles to her. What would things be like in a few hours, a few days, a few months? The prospects were infinite but she knew that as long as she worked with them all cooperatively things could be great. With a deep breath, she began to read aloud.

 _"_ _Through the night's darkness and the day's peace, I have faith._

 _Through the danger and the torment, I have courage._

 _When the challenges arise, I will call upon the power,_

 _When there are children lost, I will help them recover,_

 _And when the worst seems here, I will believe in the better."_

Closing her eyes as she finished, Sarah let the words settle in the air around them and fill with the energy of her belief, of the power of the Labyrinth. And something had changed- nothing too noticeable of course, but there was a sort of connectedness she felt to her surroundings more, the air had an extra electricity to it, and then something really did change.

Opening her eyes Sarah found herself in a large circular room with no ceiling, the orange sky of the Labyrinth at its sunset, with deep pinks and reds giving way to stars above and fading up into the night. Something in her knew she was not actually there, but a warm breeze crossed her skin bringing her to focus on the room around her and she realised that the pendant was in the middle, suspended in the air by nothing but magic, its form that of a rough sapphire instead of that of a butterfly as she reached toward it.

"Don't be afraid, Sarah." Came a voice to the side, startling her slightly. Looking over she saw a beautiful young woman with a long curtain of golden-white hair, slightly pointed ears poking into view, and wide eyes staring back at her, eyes with different colors like jewels glistening and changing in the light that she couldn't place. She was dressed in a simple white dress and around her neck there was the sapphire butterfly pendant, and Sarah realized that this woman was Jareth's mother, the previous believer. The woman smiled softly and offered a gentle hand. "I was wishing I would meet you soon."

"What is this place?" Sarah asked curiously. "You're Jareth's mother- aren't you?"

"This is not so much a place as a state of mind, dear Sarah." The woman smiled, looking to the sky and the pendant that hung in the middle of the room. "I am Jareth's mother, yes. I am Johanna." Sarah nodded slowly, trying to put things into perspective. She seemed so young- but that made sense, she had been one of the fae according to Sir Didymus, and from her little knowledge of magical races she presumed that they aged much slower than humans.

"I'm trying to be the Believer. I- I don't understand why-" Sarah began but was interrupted by the sound of another voice.

"We are here to help you take on the power Sarah." The voice was gruff but held a slight purr and when she turned to see the source she saw that they were surrounded by many people, all dressed in white just as Johanna was and wearing sapphire pendants in the shapes of different animals. This- she thought perhaps a man- had a pendant of a type of large cat and his eyes were green with slits like a cats. "We have all been through this as you are now, choosing this life."

"It is a life of devotion to a cause, Sarah, and we hope to prepare you for it." Came the voice of a shorter goblin woman, whose pendant was that of a coy fish.

"This is where you make the final choice. Are you sure you want to do this?" A creature she could not name spoke, with a pendant of a wolf around their neck.

"Yes. I have to save the Labyrinth. I need to." Sarah said looking to each of them.

"What makes you have to save it Sarah?" A man with dark hair covering his eyes almost completely asked, his pendant a snake. "Who said you have to drop your life to save it?"

"Nobody did!" Sarah said. "No one but me. It's become a part of my life and I can't bear to see it fall to shadow."

"So you care then, do you?" A small creature, a fairy it seemed popped up, tiny pendant a ladybug.

"Yes, I do." Sarah nodded. "And I won't be convinced otherwise."

"Very well Sarah." Johanna said with a familiar slight smile of approval. "What animal do you believe you fit well?"

"Animal?" Sarah asked, and she looked to the pendants and the one in the middle, waiting to be carved it seemed. She thought for a moment when it came to her. "A sparrow."

"Interesting choice." Spoke the man with cat eyes.

"Freedom but still elegant, like the snake." The man with dark hair agreed.

"And very useful." The little fairy spoke up as Johanna went and took the uncut sapphire from the middle of the room. It momentarily took on the shape of the butterfly and she held it out to Sarah.

"A sparrow." Sarah said aloud again, mostly to confirm for herself. She took the amulet and before her eyes it changed to that of the delicate bird she had chosen. As she put it on herself one by one the other Believers said their goodbyes and good wishes, fading from view, but Johanna remained. "So this is it. Yes?" she asked unsure.

"You are successful, and will do very well." Johanna assured her, giving her a gentle hug. "Can you do something for me please?" she asked quietly.

"Anything." Sarah replied, unsure what it would be and closing her eyes to the room.

"Will you tell my son that I am watching over him." Johanna said in a hushed voice, pulling away slightly. "And that he needs to remember that no matter what he sees, strength comes from within." Sarah nodded slightly in agreement and when she opened her eyes once more she saw that she was back in the little room full of books with Jareth, Sir Avian, Sir Didymus, and Hoggle, no more time having passed than the blink of her eye. Looking down she saw that the pendant had transformed to a sparrow as she had wished.

While Sir Avian and Sir Didymus applauded her success and they began to help her in a crash course of how to use spells in battle and what she would need to learn, she felt distanced from the room for a moment, taking in their words but not having to listen to them. She caught Jareth's eye as he turned to retrieve a book from across the room, and it may have been a trick of the eye, but she could've sworn that a tear had fallen on his face although all the same he seemed… proud. The symbol from his mother had gone, she realized, to be replaced by her own and she knew that she needed to tell him Johanna's message.

But just as everything in life goes, with them busying themselves to teach her how to succeed in combat things went on, in a blur of practice, failures, successes, trying to cover years of training in hours. As things came to a lull in the action Sarah reached out to Jareth, to try to tell him that they needed to talk when a goblin burst into the room, telling what she dreaded to hear.

"There's been an attack in the Labyrinth."

* * *

The first time Sarah had ridden a bike she was rushed into it somewhat, so excited to move away from the little low to the ground trike she had been used to pedaling around the driveway, usually pushing the ground with her feet more than trying to use any form of breaks, and never going quite fast enough to need those brakes. No one had told her how drastically different riding a bike with only two wheels would be from her trike and how difficult balancing could be at first. The bike was a simple one-speed, no fancy changing chains or handlebar brakes, and she had tested the brakes once or twice by then, just making sure that it would in fact stop the bike in its tracks.

For some reason she had thought that the prime test for her bike would be going down a large hill, not realizing that the momentary exhilaration of the speed she gained from going down could make her forget to brake and almost crash. She ended up swerving to avoid a parked car at the end of the hill and fell over onto one side, sliding her then tiny legs against the rough pavement and scraping up her calf and knee.

She had eventually gotten much better at riding a bike and managed to perfect her stops, starts, and turns, but she would always remember that feeling of almost crashing. She even had a scar on her calf to remember that experience by. Snapped out of her thoughts, Sarah watched members of the Labyrinth rushingly equip her with tips and tools and some limited armor before sending her off with Jareth to fight what they hoped would be a quick and simple defense of the attack on the grounds. She tried to catch a moment that seemed right to tell Jareth what his mother had told her but it all seemed wrong, the timing, the wording, the feeling of the moment… Something in her wondered how her first experience in this fight would go, how long it would take to develop that instinct that so many described in fighting as they left to go take care of the attack.

The traveling itself was quick as Jareth magicked them both to the forest, staying away from the actual place of attack in order to avoid being caught unaware. As they moved closer to their destination, she noticed trees and grounds grew familiar to her, and Sarah felt a great sense of unease realising this was the main campground of the Fireys. The quiet of their surroundings suddenly became even more deadly as she remembered the song they had sung so raucously when she had stumbled there before, wishing to take off her head just as they took off their own. Looking to Jareth she knew he was just as concerned as she, watching him check through the nearby grounds when they heard the sound of a loud snap of a breaking tree falling and loud yells in the forest nearby.

Picking up their pace Jareth and Sarah both heading in the direction of the sound and the bright light of flames blazing in the forest ahead brought a frown to Jareth's face as they moved even more quickly. Entering into the fray they saw that already there were Fireys fighting for control over their harm against creatures covered in shadow with eyes as red as rubies, and with a sharp blow Sarah was awestruck to see as one of the Fireys became infected with the dark shadows, struggling against its own limbs before succumbing to the darkness that had infected it, eyes turning that terrible red last as it turned on it's fellow Fireys in an attempt to turn them as well.

"Are they all creatures of the Labyrinth?" Sarah asked in shock, only now fully realizing that this mean Ludo had become one of these dark and shadowy creatures tinted by evil just as the Fireys were slowly becoming now.

"Yes. We must try to cast a spell of light to protect them." Jareth said, already casting spells to light the forest alongside the flames that consumed it. "Try to put out these flames, will you."

Sarah nodded slightly, her shoulders rising with the tension of the situation and the knowledge of what was truly happening. It took her a few attempts but finally she cast a spell of her own shedding water over the flames and putting them out slowly as a rainstorm, but as the flames died out the forest became dimmer and the shadow creatures began to get stronger with the increase in darkness. Even as Jareth cast more spells to light the surrounding areas Sarah could see that the effects were weak against these creatures, and she did her best to attempt to help cast more light only to see it become more and more ineffective against them.

"What's wrong, why isn't it working?" Sarah asked casting another spell alongside Jareth, confused as to why things weren't working.

"I don't know, it's never been like this before." Jareth replied having to take a step back as the remaining Fireys began to turn dark with their companions, and more red eyed creatures emerged from the depths of the forest. Behind them Sarah could see what looked like a cave or cavern of some sort covered in inky shadows with a strange sort of light beyond it, and her heart jumped into her throat as she realized that it was a wall of the Labyrinth, broken down and seemingly crumbling to pieces. She remembered once more what Jareth's mother had asked her to tell him, that no matter what he sees, strength comes from within.

As some small revelation that perhaps the issue was they were not working together a great crash came down in the distance and she could see the hole in the Labyrinth's wall getting larger and crumbling down. Pieces of rock and stone flew in their direction and the chillingly familiar sound of a deep cry drew her attention to a tall figure, vaguely furred figure in the distance stepped through, seeming to almost be at odds with itself as it moved. Sarah realized slowly that this must be her dear friend they had lost to the darkness, Ludo. It was hopeful and heartbreaking to see him fighting against himself almost, for he looked different from the others that she had seen, perhaps a bit lighter in shadow than the overtaken Fireys she watched fall to the shadowy substance. It seemed almost that his kind nature was fighting the influence of the shadows that overtook him, but the shadows were too strong for him, gaining strength from the power of the Labyrinth itself.

Relapsing from her momentary distraught realizations Sarah looked to Jareth once more. "How are we supposed to fight our friends? Will it kill him if we defeat the darkness?" She asked, and she saw creatures coming up from behind and she shot off another spell of light without even thinking, hitting it dead in the chest and for a brief moment she could see that it changed, that some of the darkness recoiled. Why this one out of all she was able to have some effect on she didn't know, but something clicked internally as she realized that she was letting the spell come as an instinct.

Together they cast more spells, working together to try to make the power stronger, and it worked for a little while, especially with that instinct.

Like riding a bike.

"We don't know what will happen because we have never had the chance to see what happens. It has never been this bad." Jareth said looking behind him and seeing very much the same thing that Sarah had just witnessed.

"So that's just it then? We try to stop them, we try to save the Labyrinth while we still can…" Sarah mumbled, thinking of how many lives could be lost to death, or darkness, or worse if they could not figure out a way to get beyond this point. They were going to need help.

"What should we do? We cannot possibly do this ourselves, not with this many creatures and so much darkness." Sarah spoke casting off other spells and trying to repeat the same end result on the Fireys as they drew closer and closer, like a massive horde.

"We need to fall back, get help from the other spellcasters of the Labyrinth." Jareth said decisively, pulling her out of the way as he sent a particularly strong spell at a creature that had almost snuck up on her. "Before your foolishness turns you into one of them." He snapped, and she could see just barely something other than anger- fear. It took her a brief moment to realize that he was looking into the distance behind her with an odd look and she turned to see what he was staring at.

"Fall."

It was a loud command from the distance, but not yelled. The word resonated through the woods and was followed by a total stop of all movement. She could even see the light beginning to come through the spaces of the leaves and wondered for a brief moment how long they had been out here, how long they had been fighting if it were truly becoming dawn. Judging by the sudden exhaustion that she felt she realized that they had been there for hours, as per the trick of the Labyrinth. Something about their voice though, seemed far too familiar.

Following the path of darkness she saw a hooded figure emerge from behind the darkened from of Ludo and calmly walk towards them through the chaos, not showing their face. This one, creature or person she did not know, was different. They were much like Jareth in a way… commanding the presence of their surroundings the moment they entered. Sarah could feel the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck raise with a cool chill as the figure approached them, taking their time. She glanced to Jareth then back to the figure as they finally reached them, reaching to let their hood drop as Sarah's eyes widened in shock. They raised a hand and let a grin slide across their figures as they cast a spell.

"Ah, Jareth, Sarah. So good to see you again."

[A/N That moment you realize you're a damn fool and haven't finished the next chapter despite staring at it for hours on end and being unable to think of anything. (Me. Right Now.) Should be up in a few hours/ sometime tomorrow.]


End file.
